Black Is… Black Ain’t

African-American documentary filmmaker Marlon Riggs was working on this final film as he died from AIDS-related complications in 1994; he addresses the camera from his hospital bed in several scenes. The film directly addresses sexism and homophobia within the black community, with snippets of misogynistic and anti-gay slurs from popular hip-hop songs juxtaposed with interviews with African-American intellectuals and political theorists, including Cornel West, bell hooks and Angela Davis.

Director: Marlon Riggs

Cast: Marlon Riggs, Angela Davis, bell hooks, Essex Hemphill, Cornel West, Maulana Karenga, Barbara Smith, Michele Wallace

Audience-only score — full critic data not yet in the ReelXO vault.